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Of the countless housing bills carried this year in Sacramento, SB 827 has hogged the limelight, energizing supporters with its potential to transform cities and suburbs up and down the state and cut driving commutes. But its far-reaching provisions have drawn withering criticism from opponents, most recently theu00a0Los Angeles and San Francisco city councils. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb, SGV Tribune/ SCNG)

A closely watched bill to force California cities to allow high-rise apartment buildings near public transit has been downsized.

The changes to Senate Bill 827, announced one week before the proposal’s first committee meeting, would knock down the minimum heights from eight stories to five in the quarter mile surrounding transit hubs — and from five stories to four slightly further away. In another key change, the bill also now requires an affordable housing component for many projects, including those in cities that don’t have such rules on the books.

“This bill has triggered a robust and passionate discussion about housing in California, and I appreciate all the feedback we’ve received, including from critics who have engaged thoughtfully on the bill,” said the bill’s author, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, in a statement Tuesday. “We have worked with both supporters and opponents on these amendments, and we will continue to work with anyone committed to solving our housing shortage as we move through the legislative process.”

Of the countless housing bills carried this year in Sacramento, SB 827 has hogged the limelight, energizing supporters with its potential to transform cities and suburbs up and down the state and cut driving commutes. But its far-reaching provisions — which would override single-family zoning rules near rail stops and other transportation hubs — have drawn withering criticism from opponents, most recently the Los Angeles and San Francisco city councils. Affordable housing advocates also have voiced concern that the bill would hasten the displacement of low-income renters amid the state’s housing crisis.

Major changes to SB 827 include

–Replacing affordable housing: Any rent-controlled or low-income housing unit that is demolished as a result of the bill must be replaced.

–Low-income housing: Developers using the bill for a project with 10 or more units would have to set aside a portion of the new housing for low-income residents — even if the city does not impose such requirements on development.

–Demolitions: If a landlord has evicted tenants under the Ellis Act within the past five years — a law that allows landlords to stop renting altogether — that building cannot be redeveloped under SB 827

–Bus stops: The bill would now apply to fewer bus stops — those that have service at least every 20 minutes all day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., as well as every 15 minutes during morning and afternoon rush hours.

–Delayed start: SB 827 would not take effect until January 1, 2021. But the bill prevents cities from trying to skirt the legislation in the meantime by taking off the table land that is currently zoned for homes.

Absent from this set of amendments are changes sought by California’s influential construction union, but unpopular with developers and other business interests backing the bill: concessions to labor, such as requirements that developers pay the prevailing wage.

Such negotiations and others are likely to continue if the bill clears the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee next Tuesday.